Troy Bolton: Secret Agent
by Abandoned.See new ZefronsAngel
Summary: One secret agent. One mission. One terrible mistake...then a bunch of unexpected things. TROYELLA
1. Prologue

Troy Bolton dashed into his car. That day was the day he had been waiting for ever since he had walked out of college with a degree in law enforcement. Well, that was actually an understatement. He had really been waiting for that day since he was a little boy.

Just an hour before, the police chief had asked Troy to do his first mission as a secret agent. That mission was to find a twenty-two year old woman reported for reoccurring thefts. Though the name of the woman was unknown, she was known to have dark curls hanging midway down her back, possess chocolate eyes, and be about five feet in height. After tracking her down, he was to follow her and record every movement she made.

Troy parked his car in the parking lot of Albuquerque Market, one of the places where a theft had occurred. He was planning on questioning the employees there about the woman he was keeping a careful lookout for.

Troy emerged from his car and started walking into the market when his heart fairly stopped. A young women fitting the description of the thief was heading out through the automatic doors, humming pleasantly to herself while desperately searching her large purse for something.

_She doesn't look too much like a thief,_ Troy thought to himself as the girl looked directly at him. A friendly smile played on her glossed lips and her perfect features appeared gentle. But anything could be possible, so Troy hurried back to his car and prepared to begin the true, adventurous start of his mission.

**So, this was a prologue. The other chapters will be MUCH longer. Please tell me what you think of this and if I should write this story or not. Thanks:)**


	2. Jay Rivers

As the young woman drove along the busy highway, Troy did his best to stay as close to her as possible. Of course with traffic and pedestrians crossing the street at crosswalks, it was hard, but he managed to follow the supposed thief all the way to a small town house. There, he carefully observed the young woman as she got out of her car, walked rather gracefully over to the front door, and unlocked it. Troy rolled down his window just in time to hear a second woman's voice say, 'Hi, Gabriella.'

So, the theif's name must be Gabriella, Troy thought excitedly to himself as he grabbed a pad of paper-along with a pen-from his glove compartment. He wasn't sure whether Gabriella spelled her name with one 'l' or two, so he scribbled it down both ways.

As Troy quickly hid the paper he had just written down the newly gained information, he debated with himself about what he should do next. Several options were rolling around in his head, but he wasn't sure which one would be the wisest to go along with. Finally, however, he chose to go to Gabriella's door and pretend he was selling something. That way, he might be able to get a glimpse of her home's interior through the doorway or, even better, get invited in. Hurriedly grabbing a catalog containing cookies and other desserts that he had brought with him along with several other props to trick people into thinking he was just an ordinary guy with, he climbed out of his car and casually walked to Gabriella's front door.

"Yes?" Gabriella said as she opened the door in response to the ringing doorbell.

"Hi, my name is Jay Rivers," Troy greeted. Jay Rivers was his chosen alias so that when he made some success worthy of being printed in the local newspaper and people saw his real name, they wouldn't get suspicious if he came around to their place or called them on the phone.

"And what would you like?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to buy something for this fundraiser I'm doing."

"It depends on what you're selling."

"Desserts," Troy replied. "You can take a look at what all is available if you want." He offered his catalog to Gabriella.

Gabriella took the item from the 'salesman' and leafed through it. "Um, all these things look delicious, but the prices are a bit high for me," she decided after a moment. "Sorry." She handed the catalog back with a friendly smile.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?"

"I'm positive."

Troy thanked Gabriella, shook her hand, then made his way back to his car. That plan hadn't exactly worked, but he could always try something else. Pulling his car to the corner of the street, he put on a baseball cap, making sure the rim was leaning more toward the side of his head than to the front, undid the top two buttons of his white, button-down shirt, pulled the bottom of the shirt out from his pants, where he had had it tucked, wrinkled it a bit, then grabbed his ipod, shoving the earphones into his ears while getting out of his car.

Troy Bolton-alias Jay Rivers-now looked like an average college-age boy.

**.....**

"Hey," Troy mumbled as he 'accidentally' ran into Gabriella, who was at the bottom of her driveway checking the mail. For the past hour, Troy had been walking up and down the sidewalks of the neighborhood waiting to see Gabriella a second time.

"Do I know you?" Gabriella questioned suspiciously, slowly turning her eyes to meet Troy's.

Troy shrugged. "I dunno."

"I forget your name, but whoever you are, I don't want to buy anything for your fundraiser." Gabriella crossed her arms across her chest, annoyed, as she realized the man she was looking at was Troy-well, in her mind, Jay, but whatever. Troy and Jay were the same people.

_Darn it! _Troy thought to himself. _She saw through my new disguise! _Then, aloud, he began, "My name is Jay. And I just can't help but want to see you again. You're a beautiful girl."

"Beautiful?" Gabriella repeated. "So, are you trying to....ask me out in a very roundabout way?"

"Yes," Troy answered on an impulse, coming close to not keeping his voice in sync with his character of Jay Rivers.

"You know, you're a pretty cute guy. I'll try going out with you. When did you want to have this date and where were you thinking of going?" Gabriella spoke.

"Tonight. I'll pick you up at eight, and then we can decide where we're going."

"Awesome. Do you want my number?"

"Yeah!" Troy had to stop himself from sounding overly enthusiastic. Of course he wanted Gabriella's number! He wanted to stalk her, didn't he? Having her phone number would certainly help.

Gabriella told Troy her number and waited while he typed it into his cell phone. "Alright. I'll see you at eight, then. Bye, Jay." She turned, then went back inside her house.

Troy smiled to himself as he texted to the police chief:

_Jay Rivers is goin good!_

_....._

**Thank you guys so much! On the prologue, I got 11 reviews! Sorry this chapter is short again, but it takes me 1-2 chaps to get into the plot, meaning it takes that long to get lengthy chapters. Hope you enjoyed it:)**


	3. The Investigation Begins

Troy pushed the doorbell of Gabriella's house and waited as patiently as possible for her to answer the door. He had brought her a bouquet of red roses to show his 'admiration' for her and dressed in a crisp, clean button-down shirt along with a pair of black pants that were meant to go with his suit. His hair was combed off his forehead, giving him a more adult appearance.

Gabriella pulled her front door open and, seeing Troy, invited him inside to wait while she sprayed her wrists with perfume and applied some gloss to her lips.

Troy, smiling-mostly to himself-entered Gabriella's house. "Is anyone here except for you?" he asked out of curiosity after Gabriella returned from doing what she had to do.

Gabriella shook her head. "No. I asked to be alone tonight. I thought that after dinner, if you were interested, we could come back here and hang out a little. If anyone was here, especially if my twin sister was, we wouldn't get a moment of peace."

"Who all lives here?" Troy wondered.

"My mom, my twin sister, my older brother, my high school-age sister, and my middle school-age brother."

"Wow, you have a big family," Troy commented.

"Yeah, I know."

"Well, are you ready to leave?"

"Yup. I'm all ready."

Troy walked out of Gabriella house and led her to his car, where he opened the passenger door for her before climbing into the drivers' seat. "So, are you in college for anything?" he wanted to know.

"Yes. I'm trying to get a veterinary license."

"Oh, so you like animals?"

"Yeah. I would like to specialize in horses and cows and all the other farm animals. I've loved visiting farms ever since I was little, and all throughout my school years, I've wanted to work with farm animals."

"That sounds nice," Troy smiled.

"So, are you in college?"

"No," Troy replied. "I'm trying to find a job."

"Did you go to college in the past?"

Troy nodded. "Not college, but I did go to classes to learn how to be a cook."

"A cook?" Gabriella sounded impressed. "Maybe you could cook something for me sometime."

_Oh, why couldn't I have thought of a better lie?_ Troy groaned silently. _This is going to be awful! I can barely even make chocolate chip cookies! And now I might be forced into making an entire meal?_

"Jay? Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah." Troy forced himself out of his thoughts. "I heard you. And I would be happy to make something for you sometime, though I'm sort of busy, so I don't know when I'd be able to do it."

"Oh, that's okay. So, where are we going to dinne? I don't think you ever told me."

"I don't know. Where did you want to go?"

"How about that restaurant a few roads down from here?"

"Sure; we could go there."

**.....**

"Did you have a good time?" Troy asked Gabriella as they came out of the movie theater. After going out to eat, they had decided to see a movie instead of returning back to Gabriella's house.

Gabriella nodded. "Yes, I did."

"That's good."

As Troy and Gabriella walked over to Troy's car, Troy casually asked Gabriella, "So, have you heard about the recent thefts around town?"

Gabriella didn't appear to be affected at all by Troy's question. "Yeah, I've heard about the thefts. I don't know why anyone would do something like that, though. I think it's terrible."

"Me, too," Troy agreed sincerely.

As Troy got into his car with Gabriella, he decided that maybe the suspected thief wasn't that much of a thief. After all, she hadn't even said anything that indicated she knew any details about the thefts. However, he didn't want to risk letting a criminal slip through his fingers. For all he knew, she could be an extremely good actress and have replies to any questions carefully planned.

The ride back to Gabriella's house was silent. Upon arriving there, Troy politely assisted Gabriella in getting out of the car, then escorted her to her front door. "Bye," he said. "I had fun with you. Maybe we can do this again sometime."

"I'd like that," Gabriella responded with a friendly smile.

**.....**

The next day, Troy woke up to find a text from Gabriella on his phone. It read:

_Hi Jay! I juz wanted 2 see if u wanted 2 come over l8r:) Maybe u could help me w/ dinner:)_

_Gabriella_

Troy sighed. He wanted to go to the Montez home and investigate the theft situation a little more, but he just didn't know what to do about the cooking. Oh, why did he have to go and tell a lie like that? Why couldn't he have thought of something better to tell Gabriella that he got a degree in? After debating on what to write back to her, he finally typed in:

_Sure, I can come._

_Jay_

**.....**

Around five o' clock, Troy rang Gabriella's doorbell. A few seconds later, the door swung open, revealing a girl who very closely resembled Gabriella, but had a harsh expression on her face, which was decorated with hard features that were significantly different from Gabriella's soft ones. _Oh, this must be Gabriella's twin,_ Troy realized.

"Yes?" the young woman spoke in a monotone voice.

"Hi, I'm Jay Rivers....um....Gabriella's boyfriend. She invited me over tonight," Troy acknowledged.

"Oh, okay," the girl spoke, still not changing the tone of her voice. "I guess you can come in and see her."

As the young woman stepped aside, Troy walked through the doorway. Glancing around, he caught sight of Gabriella curled up on her living room sofa reading a book about diagnosing animal diseases. "Hi, Gabriella," he greeted.

Gabriella glanced up from her book and, smiling, said, "Hi, Jay. You can sit down if you want." She patted the seat beside her.

Troy took the offered seat.

Gabriella placed a bookmark in her book, and, putting it aside, indicated the girl that had answered the door. "Jay, this is my twin sister Isabella. Isabella, this is Jay."

Isabella nodded coldly in acknowledgement, her eyes narrowed, before walking outside. Through the glass of the windows, which had the curtains pulled off of them, Troy could see her take a cigarette from a box and light it.

"Excuse my sister, please," Gabriella spoke.

Troy smiled.

"So, are you ready to help me cook?"

"Sure; what are we making?"

"Pork chops," Gabriella responded. "And also some peas."

_Pork chops? Those are so hard to make! When I was at home, my mom rarely made those! I don't even remember seeing what had to be done to make them!_ Troy was in a panic on the inside, but on the outside, he forced a smile to break out upon his lips. "Oh, my two favorite things to cook!"

"Really? Those are really your favorite things to cook?"

"Yeah. I might not be good at making them, though, because I haven't done so for at least a year. But I'll try to remember. Do you have a cookbook?"

Gabriella nodded. "I'll go get it."

_**.....**_

An hour later, Gabriella pulled burnt pork chops from the oven.

Troy, noticing the ruined food, apologized. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I mess things up, too sometimes. It's not a big deal. We can just get some take out from that Chinese restaurant near here. Like you said, you haven't made pork chops for about a year, and even with a cookbook cooking can get confusing."

"Thanks for understanding. But um...what are we gonna do about the peas? They turned out okay." _Surprisingly,_ Troy added silently.

"I guess put them in the fridge. My family can reheat them tomorrow night."

"Okay." Troy put the pot of peas in the refrigerator, then began helping Gabriella to get rid of the pork chops.

**.....**

As Troy got up from the dinner table, Gabriella noticed a card that had fallen out of his pocket. "Jay, why do you have an Albuquerque Police Department ID card?" she wondered. "And why does it have your name written as 'Troy Bolton?'"

Troy hurriedly snatched the card from Gabriella's hand. "Oh," he laughed, trying not to sound bothered, "This is my friend's card. He's with the police. He asked me to keep the card safe for him, and I said 'yes.'"

"Oh," Gabriella responded. "You know, you two look alike."

"No, not really. The lighting was messed up while he was getting his picture taken, so it just looks like we look the same. We do look similar, though."

"Hm. That's interesting."

"Yeah," Troy agreed, quickly hiding his ID card in his wallet before Gabriella could have a better view of his photo and realize that the man it was really him and not his 'friend.'

"Hey, you know, you still need to meet my family. Well, the rest of them. You already met Isabella, and then at dinner, my mom and Hailey." Hailey was Gabriella's younger sister.

"Okay. Where's the rest of your family?"

"Upstairs. Follow me."

Troy followed Gabriella up the stairs and into a large room, where a young man and a boy, appearing about twelve, were sitting down and playing a video game.

"Matt, Cole, this is my boyfriend, Jay," Gabriella announced.

The two boys turned to look at their sister and Troy. Upon seeing him, the younger boy just offered a brief wave before turning back to his game while the older one struggled to hide his shock. He knew from first glance that Jay Rivers wasn't who he said he was. He immediately recognized the face of the man before him. And he knew that it was Troy Bolton, the secret agent he had seen many times at work.

**.....**

**I hope you liked this! Thanks so much for all the reviews I've gotten! I really appreciate them! I started re-writing my story **_**Tornados of the Heart,**_** just to let you all know. The first chapter's up. And I'm having problems with HSM8 again, so please visit my profile if you read that story and vote in my poll:) Thanks!**


	4. An Unexpected Surprise

"Gabriella, I want to talk to your boyfriend alone for a minute," spoke Gabriella's oldest brother.

"Why, Matt?" Gabriella questioned.

"I just need to," Matt responded, rising from his seat and walking out of the room and into his bedroom, motioning for Troy to follow. Once both men were inside, Matt shut the door. "Troy Bolton, aka 'Jay Rivers,'" Matt laughed, making air quotes while saying Troy's alias. "What are you doing here? I mean-I know you're my sister's boyfriend, but why are you undercover? Is there something wrong with someone in our family?"

Troy, who had, several moments ago, recognized Matt, who was a police officer at the Albuquerque Police Department, answered, "Gabriella fits the description of the thief who's been stealing things around here lately. I'm pretending to be her boyfriend so I can spy on this family."

"Gabriella? A thief?" Matt sounded surprised, but he kept himself from spilling any revealing information.

"Well, now I'm not so sure. I'm actually thinking it might be Isabella now. But anyway, my identity needs to be kept a secret. Please don't tell anyone in this house."

"Okay. I won't. And I'll help you keep an eye on things here. I live here, so it will really seem natural if I try to pry into my sister's life. So I'll help you out," Matt offered.

"Really? Thanks, but this is my mission; I think I need to do this alone."

"You know, some of the best secret agents need help at times. There's nothing wrong with asking for it. Besides, if we want to catch criminals, we need to do whatever we need to do to catch them."

"You're right. Do you think I should 'break up' with Gabriella?"

"I don't think that would be the best idea. She'll really think something's up then. Just go along with her."

"Okay."

After that, the conversation came to a close. Troy and Matt left Matt's room and went back to Gabriella, who Troy escorted back downstairs.

"So, what were you talking about with Matt?" Gabriella wanted to know.

"He was just making sure I wasn't a jerk," Troy lied. "Apparently, he's protective over you and doesn't like anyone who's even remotely questionable going out with you."

"Really? He's never really been close to me. That's odd that he all of a sudden cares about who I date," Gabriella said thoughtfully.

"Maybe he's taking an interest in you. I don't know." Troy shrugged. "Anyway, I gotta go."

Gabriella looked at the ground in disappointment. "Okay," she responded.

"Maybe you can come over to my place for dinner in a couple days," Troy suggested. "I'll make dinner for us and we can have a nice evening." However, the dinner he was planning on making wasn't going to be homemade. It was going to be frozen things he heated up in the oven. That would fool Gabriella into thinking he was a real chef. Hopefully.

"Oooh!" Gabriella squealed. "I'd like that!"

"Alright. Well, I'll call you about that and let you know more details." Troy then headed for the front door.

"Bye, Jay. I'll see you in a couple days."

"Bye, Gabriella," Troy returned before exiting the house.

**...**

Troy carefully cleaned up everything in his house that betrayed even a stitch of evidence that he was with the police. He didn't want Gabriella to come in and begin to get suspicious. She had already seen his police ID card; if she saw anything else that would make her associate him with the police, she would see right through his disguise.

After making sure all the things that he considered secret were hidden, Troy walked into his kitchen and popped some frozen breaded chicken legs into the oven to heat up. He then put together some salad and set the table. A minute later, he heard his doorbell. That made him hurriedly discard the box the chicken legs had been in and race to the door.

"Hey," Gabriella greeted with a smile.

"Hi," Troy spoke. "You can come inside."

Gabriella walked inside and into the small living room, which contained on old, beat-up sofa, a TV on a wobbly TV stand, and a floor lamp. That set-up was not want she expected from her boyfriend. He seemed so neat in front of her before, but, considering that he was still trying to get employed, the decor of the house made sense.

"So, are you hungry?" Troy wondered.

Gabriella nodded. "What are we having?"

"Chicken legs," Troy replied.

"Mmmm," was Gabriella's response.

"You can sit down," Troy invited. "And if you're thirsty, I can get you something to drink. I have soda, milk, iced tea, apple juice, and water."

Gabriella took a seat on the sofa. "I'll have some iced tea," she decided.

"Okay. I'll get that for you." Troy disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing a moment later with a tall glass of iced tea in one of his hands. "Here you go." He set the glass on the end table that rested beside the sofa.

"Thanks."

Troy joined Gabriella on the couch. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you-do you have any hobbies?"

"Well, I did play soccer for a couple years during high school," Gabriella answered. "Though I wasn't very good. I didn't play for too long in games, but when I did, I had a lot of fun."

Troy smiled. He liked it when girls were sporty rather than real girly. "That's really awesome. Maybe we should have a one-on-one soccer game in my backyard."

"I don't think there is such a thing as one-on-one soccer."

At that moment, a large black cat stealthily entered the room, its tail held high as well as its head.

"Oh, Gabriella, this is my cat," Troy announced. "His name is Wizard."

"Aw, you have a kitty!" Gabriella giggled. "He's so cute! Can I pet him?"

"Sure," Troy replied. "He's really friendly." Just then, however, he noticed that Wizard still had on his collar, which had, hanging from it, a tag that said Troy's name and phone number in case the cat ever got lost. He, as secretly as possible, removed Wizard's collar and hid it in the sofa cushion. Thankfully, Gabriella didn't seem to notice.

"So, what made you decide to get a cat? I know most guys think they are too 'tough' for a cat."

"I went to an animal shelter and saw him there. I had a black cat when I was little, so I thought it would be kind of cool to have one again. And I was right; it's really cool." Troy smiled and scratched his cat behind the ears.

**...**

After dinner, Troy and Gabriella went outside to sit in the chairs in Troy's backyard.

"So, do you want to do something this weekend?" Gabriella wondered.

Troy sighed. He had been hoping for a relaxing weekend at home. Since Matt had offered to help him with the mission, he just wanted two days where he could just relax and not have to stalk Gabriella. Besides, now he suspected Isabella of the thefts, and in order to observe her, he would need to be at the Montez house-not out at dinner or the movies. And he didn't want to get caught in serious one-sided relationship. He didn't even have romantic feelings for Gabriella. The only things that made him feel even some sort of friendship toward her were the fact that she was sporty and that she was super friendly. However, she seemed crazy about him. "Well, I don't know," Troy finally answered.

"Oh, are you going to be busy?"

"Yeah," Troy lied.

A look of disappointment crossed over Gabriella's delicate face. "I was thinking we could make Saturdays and Sundays our time to go out. Spring break for college is ending this week, so I won't be able to go out on weekdays until May. Luckily, I take my classes at a local college, but still, I'll have no time to go out during the week."

"Well, we can," Troy forced himself to promise. "But just not this weekend; it's not a good time for me."

"Okay. Well, call me sometime so we can make plans for next weekend."

"I will."

"Oh, and by the way, did you hear about this guy who's been kidnapping children lately? I heard he's a young man around our ages."

Troy froze. Did Gabriella suspect that he was a secret agent? Was she trying to make him spill his secret by telling him about crimes that had been committed recently? "No; I haven't heard about that."

Gabriella shrugged. "I was just wondering." In her mind, however, she was thinking about the way Troy had tensed up when she had mentioned the crime. She knew that thought would be on her mind for a long time.

**...**

That night as Troy fixed his house back to the way it was before he cleaned up all his police things for Gabriella's visit, he sat down on his bed to think about the whole situation. In order to stalk Isabella, he would need to stay with Gabriella. However, he had to think of ways that their weekend dates could involve visiting the Montez house. _Well,_ he thought,_ I could request a casual date that was eating dinner at my place and then going to hers to watch a movie. Or I could always come early to pick her up for dates. No...that would be too rude._

Just then, Troy's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" Troy answered, picking up the phone.

"Hi, this is Chief Branson. I just wanted to let you know that there's another suspected criminal. This one has light brown hair, blue eyes, and is fairly tall. He appears to be about twenty-five. And his name is Jay Rivers."

_What?_ Troy almost screamed the word aloud.

"Agent Bolton, are you still there?" Chief Branson asked after he received no answer.

"Yes," Troy replied. "What did this Jay Rivers do?"

"Well, people think he's been kidnapping. But we don't know if he's the real kidnapper or not. A new secret agent-Gabriella Montez, is looking into that. However, I would appreciate it..."

Troy didn't hear anymore after Gabriella's name. _She _was a secret agent, too? No wonder she had questioned him about the kidnapping!


	5. Secrets Revealed

The next time Troy got together with Gabriella, he felt as if he were questioned about various things related to crime more than she was. Well, of course it was that way-she was a secret agent and he knew it. He wasn't going to ask her anything pertaining to the thefts anymore. However, Gabriella knew him as Jay Rivers the criminal.

"So, do you like children?" Gabriella questioned.

"They're okay," Troy replied honestly. He didn't particularly _love_ kids, but he didn't hate them, either. Well, except for the bratty ones that demanded that they have their own way all the time. He really had a strong dislike for them.

"Do you want any?"

"Not now," Troy answered hurriedly. "I'm too young to be a father. Maybe in a few years after I get married."

"Oh. Well, I noticed that you have candy in your car. Do you happen to give it out to anyone?"

"You mean all those Life Savers and miniature Reeses' Peanut Butter Cups? The Life Savers are to freshen my breath, and the Reeses' are for a quick smack in case I get hungry while driving around."

"Okay; I was just wondering. I've never met a guy who kept candy in his car before." Gabriella giggled.

"Yeah, well...I do."

"Alright, moving on. Have you gotten a job yet?"

"No, not yet. I'm still looking. How's college?"

"Great! I'm having a lot of fun there."

Troy nodded in understanding, not allowing Gabriella to be able to tell that he knew she wasn't in veterinary school, but instead, in the same business as he was.

"Hey, Jay, can we go over to your place after we're done eating dinner?" Gabriella requested after a few minutes of silence.

"Sure; why not," Troy shrugged.

"Awesome," Gabriella said.

**...**

"Can I see your bedroom?" Gabriella wanted to know not too long after she and Troy had gotten to Troy's place. "I'm curious about what it looks like."

"My room?" Troy began to panic. Gabriella probably suspected he had children hidden in there. Though he didn't, that was still the hiding place for things revealing any clues about him being a secret agent. "Um..."

"Do you have a present for me hidden in there or something?" Gabriella asked, obvious suspicion in her voice.

"No, but-"

"Jay, by the order of the police, I have to have a look in your bedroom." Gabriella pulled her police ID from her purse. "If you refuse, I'll call in officers. You see, I'm a secret agent. I can't do anything much to you but stick my nose into your life. But officers can do more. Much, much more. So either let me look in your room or I'm calling the officers."

Troy sat down on the sofa. "Please. Don't get so violent."

Gabriella sat down next to Troy. "I'm not. I'm doing my job."

Just then, Troy noticed that his cat's collar, which had been shoved in the sofa cushions ever since Gabriella's visit, was visible. He tried to push it back down, but Gabriella's eyes were too quick.

"What is this?" she asked.

"My cat's collar," Troy answered.

Gabriella examined the tag on the collar. "Troy Bolton? Why do you have his cat's collar? And his police ID card? I suspect you of something more than just kidnapping! I suspect you of identity theft! What else do you have, his credit card number?"

"No!" Troy fairly shouted.

"I'm going up in your room." Gabriella rose from her seat and darted upstairs. Preparing herself to see poor children, gagged and tied up, she opened the door to Troy's room, the only room upstairs with a closed door. However, upon entering, she saw police papers and disguises. "Jay! Get up here! Explain all this to me!"

Troy rushed up to his room.

"Are these disguises for when you go kidnap kids, so they don't recognize you from the way the news reporters describe you? And what's with the police papers? Are they your criminal records? You know what; don't answer those questions. I'm calling the officers." Gabriella pulled out her cell phone.

"No!" Troy protested. "I can explain."

"Alright; go on. But if you give me any kind of unbelievable crap, I will be dialing the number to the police station."

Troy took a deep breath. "I'm a secret agent. My name is Troy Bolton, and my alias is Jay Rivers. I had no clue Jay Rivers was the name of a kidnapper. Please don't bother the officers with something that's not even worth coming out for."

"Prove it."

"You know what, go ahead and call the officers to come out. Then, they can tell you who I am."

"Okay." Gabriella was on her phone at once.

**...**

When the police officers got to Troy's house, they assured Gabriella that 'Jay Rivers' was indeed just secret agent Troy Bolton, then warned her not to 1-be so quick to reveal herself next time, and 2-to not jump to conclusions like she had just done. After that, they left.

"So, Troy, why were you so scared to have me look in your room if you're not a criminal?" Gabriella questioned.

"I didn't want you finding out I was a secret agent. Because, to tell you the truth, I was stalking you to see if you were the one who was responsible for the recent thefts. Then, I began to suspect your sister, Isabella, but just still stayed 'together' with you so I could get through to her."

Gabriella laughed. "You thought I was a thief?"

"Well, you fit the description. And I'm new to this job, so I just wanted to make sure I watched every girl that had even a slight resemblance to the thief," Troy explained.

"At least you're a better secret agent than me," Gabriella reflected, looking down at the ground. "I messed things up real bad. I'll be surprised if I ever get to go on another mission again. I shouldn't have jumped on you like I did."

"It's okay. You just need to work on your skills more. I can help you with that if you want."

"Really?" Gabriella's face brightened up.

"Yeah. We're both secret agents; you can work with me. My mission is to investigate the thefts that have been occurring. Yours is to find Jay Rivers. If you help me, I'll help you. And tell you a few things that make being a secret agent easier than it is for you now."

"Thanks!"

"Now, the first thing I think I wanna do is switch missions with you. It'll be easier for you to question your sister than Jay Rivers. I'll stalk Jay, and you just observe your sister at home. Your brother will help you, too."

"Matt? Oh, so that's what he wanted to talk to you about the other day!" Gabriella realized.

"Yeah. So anyway, just keep a close eye on Isabella. I'll hunt for Jay. Sound good?"

"Perfect. But can I help you sometimes, too?"

"Yeah. And just to let you know in case you haven't figured it out yet-I'm 'breaking up' with you."

Gabriella let out a giggle. "Yeah, I'm 'breaking up' with you, too. I was just together with you to help me complete my mission, but since you're not a criminal, I don't have to fake things anymore."

"Yeah, same with me. Now, let's get to work."

"Like spying work?"

"No. Just a lesson on how to be a good secret agent."

"Alright. What's first?"

"Changing yourself. If you're ever in the newspaper for playing a major role in catching a criminal, people are going to recognize you and know who you are, meaning you won't be able to spy on them as well. So, what you need to do is choose an alias. Just try not to pick one that's a name of a criminal. And remember-you'll need to change it at times, too."

"Okay..." Gabriella was thoughtful for a moment. "What about...Brielle Monquez?"

"Um...I think that's a little too close to your real name," Troy informed Gabriella. "You need to choose something totally different-something that people would never associate with 'Gabriella Montez.'"

"What about...Lea Hartford?"

"Sure; that would work. Though you won't need that alias for talking to your sister, obviously. But if you're helping me with the Jay Rivers thing, then you'll definitely need to use it."

"Alright."

"Now next-disguises."

**...**

"Okay; I'd better go now," Gabriella announced after about an hour of secret agent lessons. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow," Troy returned. "Maybe you could come over at like...three? Is that good?"

Gabriella nodded. "Three will be fine."

"Hey, maybe you could have dinner here, too, after we're done our work," Troy suggested.

"Dinner sounds nice," Gabriella smiled. "Maybe I can help you with it, since I don't really think you're a cook." She giggled.

"No, I'm not a cook. That was the job I was using as sort of a...prop job. Just like you were a 'veterinary school student.' And, by the way, you did a great job of making me believe that. I think that should be what you tell people you do. Well, for a couple years yet, anyway. When that time is up, you can say you're a vet."

"Really? I really did good with that? Thanks!"

"You're welcome. I'd better let you go, then, okay? See you at three tomorrow!"

"Okay! Bye!"

After Gabriella left the house, Troy sank down into a chair. The day had been crazy. However, he was glad he didn't need to worry about hiding his identity anymore and faking a relationship. And, on top of all that, he was making a friend with the same job as him! So far, he loved being a secret agent.


	6. An Exciting Discovery

The next day, Gabriella arrived at Troy's house right on time. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hi," Troy returned, letting Gabriella walk inside his house. "So, are you ready to help me find Jay Rivers?"

Gabriella nodded. "Absolutely. And I brought something for us to have for dessert tonight." She handed Troy a container of brownies. "I hope you like these."

"I love brownies," Troy said, taking the container from Gabriella and putting it in his kitchen. "Thanks for bringing them. Now, I'm just gonna go grab my stuff and then we can get going."

"Okay."

Troy disappeared upstairs, reappearing in just a minute. "Alright; let's go. Do you want to take your car or mine?"

"Um...how about mine? It's parked behind yours in the driveway, so it'll be easier to back out."

"That sounds good." Troy followed Gabriella out the door and over to her car. "Who's driving?"

"I can," Gabriella replied, climbing into the drivers' seat.

Troy got into the passenger seat. "Okay, so where are we going? Do you know where this guy lives or where he was last seen or do we just have to blindly wander around Albuquerque?"

"He was last seen a couple blocks down," Gabriella answered while carefully backing out of the driveway. "So I'm gonna drive there and then keep an eye out for any cars that look like his."

"What does his car look like?"

"It's a dark blue mini van with muddy tires and dark windows."

"Oh. Okay. I'll keep an eye out for it, too."

Gabriella thanked Troy as she drove the short distance it was to the place Jay Rivers was last sighted. "I don't see a mini van fitting the description of his," she told Troy after going around the whole neighborhood twice. "Do you?"

"No," Troy answered.

"Alright, then." Gabriella pulled out of the neighborhood and onto the street leading to it. There, someone in a dark blue mini van pulled out right in front of her. Taking a closer look, she saw the van had muddy tires and dark windows. It fit the exact description of Jay Rivers' car. "Troy, I think that's it!" Gabriella squealed in delight.

"Follow it," Troy instructed. "Do not take your eyes off of it. However, it is a good idea to stay a couple of cars behind it so Jay doesn't suspect he's being stalked. But whatever you do, just don't take your eyes off of him-not even for a split second."

"Okay," Gabriella acknowledged, feeling a rush of excitement sweep over her.

**...**

An hour later, Troy and Gabriella found themselves watching Jay as he drove up the long driveway of a secluded old house. He parked, got out of the car, and then let two young children, appearing to be only three or four years old, out of the backseat, clutching their arms roughly so they didn't run away.

"I'm calling the police officers," Gabriella decided, grabbing her cell phone.

"Good idea," Troy agreed.

"Wait." Gabriella stopped. "I don't even know how we got here. How will I give them directions?"

"Good point. Um...oh! In all the police cars there's a GPS. Just give them the address, and they should be able to find it. The only thing is that it takes about an hour to get here, and if Jay leaves in that hour..."

"Troy, I have an idea. One of us gets out of the car, and one of us stays in. If Jay leaves, then whichever one of us is in the car will go after him so we don't lose him, but either you or me will still be here to tell the officers what's going on," Gabriella spoke, smiling at the realization that she was making up a plan.

At that moment, Jay exited the house and got in his van again.

"That was a great idea, but now he's leaving. He'll get suspicious if someone's getting out of a car at his house. We'll just both have to follow him. But hurry! Pull out into the road; act like you were already driving," Troy told Gabriella in a rush.

Gabriella listened to Troy. When Jay got out of his driveway, she began to follow him.

**...**

Half an hour later, Troy and Gabriella found themselves at the end of a driveway belonging to a fairly nice home. They watched from the car as Jay went inside. When they found that, almost two hours later, he didn't come back out, they decided to go to the door.

"Remember, use your alias," Troy reminded Gabriella as they headed up the worn-down driveway.

Gabriella nodded in acknowledgement.

When they reached the porch, Troy pressed the doorbell. A minute later, Jay answered the door. Troy and Gabriella both noticed that he did indeed bear somewhat of a resemblance to Troy. He had the same haircut-only it looked a lot messier-and eyes in the same shade of blue as Troy's. Another thing that was similar was the eye shape. However, he was a little taller than Troy, and, excluding his eyes, his features were sharper, his nose was larger, and his entire face was a different shape.

"What do you want, people?" Jay asked in a smart tone.

"Hi, we were just looking for Gail Adams." Troy replied, totally making up the name of the person he and Gabriella were 'looking for.'

"Then you must have come to the wrong place," Jay mumbled. "So go on your way. I have stuff to do, and I can't do it when people like you are coming to be door and bothering me like this."

"I'm sorry," Gabriella apologized. "We'll leave. But before we do, can I use your bathroom?"

"My _bathroom?_" Jay repeated. "Go to a store to use the bathroom if you have to go or, if you can't wait to find one, go on the ground." Jay slammed the door in Troy and Gabriella's faces.

"Now what do we do?" Gabriella wondered as she began to head down the driveway.

Troy went after Gabriella and grabbed her arm, stopping her from going any further. "Find an open or unlocked window and climb through it."

"I'm scared," Gabriella decided suddenly, pulling her arm away from Troy and continuing down the driveway. "Couldn't we just-"

"No." Troy took Gabriella's hand, pulling her back over to him. Now listen; there's two of us. We're both secret agents. We'll be fine. We just need to stay hidden. And if he sees us-"

"We're dead," Gabriella finished.

"No. If he sees us, we'll show him our secret agent licenses. That way, he can't call the police on us."

"He'll still call them. It won't matter to him whether we have licenses or not."

Troy thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. But then when the police come, we'll show them our licenses, Jay will get arrested, and the kidnapped children will be set free."

"I don't know..."

"Come on. Let's go hide the car somewhere, then come back and spy."

Gabriella's body trembled and her heart raced as she climbed into her car with Troy and drove it to a mini market only five minutes from Jay's house. After parking it in the parking lot, she and Troy got out of it and walked back to Jay's place.

"I'll check the windows on the right side of the house, you check the ones on the left side," Troy instructed. "And-"

Just then, Jay walked out of his house.

"Run!" Troy whispered quietly, darting as fast as he could to the backyard and entering the shed. Gabriella did the same, closing the shed door behind her.

"That was scary," Gabriella remarked.

"But we survived it."

"Yeah."

After a minute, Troy decided to check to see if Jay had left yet. He went out of the shed and cautiously back to the front of the house. There was no car in the driveway. Rushing back to Gabriella, he revealed the news to her.

"So are we gonna try to get in?" Gabriella inquired.

Troy nodded. "Come on; let's go!"

Troy and Gabriella went in their opposite directions to check the windows on both sides of the house.

"I found an unlocked one!" Gabriella exclaimed almost immediately.

Troy ran over. "Great!" Then he noticed the screen on the ground. "Good job. I like how you took off the screen to check if the window was unlocked or not. The only thing is, we'll have to get it back on once we're inside."

"How will we do that?"

Suddenly, Troy realized what he had said. "I don't know," he answered slowly, considering the fact that screens couldn't be replaced from the interior of a home.

"Oooh! I have an idea!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I'll go inside through the window. You put the screen back in. While you're doing that, I'll unlock the front door. Then, when you're all done, you can come in that way."

"You are so smart," Troy commented.

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled while opening the window and climbing through it. Once in the house, she ran to the front door and unlocked it.

"That plan worked well," Troy commented a minute later as he entered Jay's house. "Now, let's look around and see what we find." Troy walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

"Troy, what are you doing?" Gabriella asked. "I doubt anything important will be in the fridge."

"I'm starving. It's quarter after seven already. We didn't eat dinner."

"Troy, for all you know, that food could be poisoned."

"Good point," Troy decided, closing the fridge. "Sorry; I guess I just had a weak moment. Now, let's start searching this place."

"I'll look upstairs," Gabriella offered.

"And I'll look down here," Troy said.

"Are you gonna keep a lookout for Jay?" Gabriella wanted to know.

Troy nodded. "Oh, and I have to lock the front door again."

Gabriella followed Troy as he walked over to lock the door. "What will we do if Jay shows up?"

"Hide."

"Hide where?"

"Well, a full closet would be good. Or under a bed. And if there's an attic or basement, that would be helpful, too," came Troy's reply.

"How about we look for a basement or attic before we start anything?" Gabriella suggested.

"Alright. You look upstairs for an attic, and I'll look for a basement."

Troy and Gabriella went their separate ways.

"I found a basement!" Troy called out a minute later. "Come here and see it!"

Gabriella rushed downstairs and then went in the direction Troy's voice was coming from. "Oh, okay, that's good," she spoke upon seeing the door to the basement. "Should we go down and check it out?"

"Yeah; good idea," Troy replied.

Troy and Gabriella walked down the stairs. When they reached the bottom of them, they discovered a fully carpeted room with furniture, lights, a TV, a closet, and a small table with four chairs around it.

"This doesn't look like much of a basement," Troy remarked, studying the contents of the room.

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed. "But I guess it is."

Troy walked over to the closet and opened it. Inside, there were wigs with styles of both men and women's hair, clothing for both genders, a bag of chocolate bars, and gold jewelry. "Wow, what's all this stuff?"

Gabriella was at Troy's side in an instant. "I don't know. It looks like disguises to me. And candy." She giggled.

Suddenly, an important thought hit Troy. "Gabriella, gold jewelry was stolen from the Gold Plus Jewelry Shop a week ago! That woman who was stealing things took them! But what are they doing here, in Jay's basement?" He pulled his eyes away from the closet for a moment and looked at Gabriella.

"I don't know. It seems odd to me," Gabriella answered. "Are you sure they're real gold? And are you positive that jewelry is the same jewelry that was stolen?"

Troy picked up a delicate-looking necklace and examined it. On the back of the golden fastener that was used to secure the necklace around one's neck, he found it said that that piece of jewelry was eighteen carats: proof that the gold was genuine. "It's real," he announced. He then took his wallet from his pocket and pulled out a paper that had the written description of the stolen things. After studying the necklace in his hand and the remaining pieces of jewelry, he announced, "I think it's it. All the jewelry pieces match the description, and they're all real."

"This is totally weird," Gabriella commented.

"I know," Troy agreed, looking through the closet for more stuff. In the process, he knocked over a dark wig.

"Troy, this wig matches my hair," Gabriella said as she picked the wig up off the floor and held it up next to her head. "See?"

"Yeah!" Troy replied, laughing.

After giggling a little, a thought suddenly hit Gabriella. "The thief's hair looks like mine..."

"So that could mean..."

"That Jay Rivers is the 'woman' thief!" Gabriella finished after Troy trailed off.

Instead of responding, Troy froze.

"What?" Gabriella asked abruptly, clutching Troy's arm. "What's wrong?"

"Hide," Troy instructed. "I just heard the front door open."

**...**

**Hey, I'm getting so many reviews on this story! That you guys all so much:)**


	7. The Capture

"Where should we hide?" Gabriella asked in a panicked whisper.

"The closet!" Troy answered, hurrying into the mentioned space and motioning for Gabriella to join him.

Gabriella hid her doubts about squeezing into the closet, which appeared to be more like a hiding space for secret things than a storage area, and rushed into the empty space beside Troy while sliding the door shut.

A moment later, slow, heavy footsteps were heard coming down the basement stairs. Once they reached the ground floor, they stopped. Troy and Gabriella could almost visualize Jay listening to the soft sound of their breathing emanating from their hiding place.

"Who's there?" Jay called out.

Troy and Gabriella both held their breaths, not daring to make even the slightest sound any more. Their sweaty hands were clasped with one another's in fear. They strained their ears, trying to hear where Jay was in the room. However, his location was impossible to detect. That is, until he pushed the closet door open and looked inside. "Spies," he growled, seizing one of Troy's arms and one of Gabriella's.

Troy and Gabriella stared at one another, trying to read each other's faces as if the answers to their problem were written on them.

"What are you doing here?" Jay demanded. "And how much do you know?"

"We're secret agents for the Albuquerque Police Department," Troy explained, using his free arm to get his ID card from his wallet. He then showed it to Jay.

"Secret agents, huh? Well, not anymore." Jay, dragging Troy and Gabriella along with him, went over to a cabinet. From it, he pulled out some rope and two gags.

Thinking quickly, Gabriella's leg shot out to kick Jay where it hurt, causing him to stumble and scream in pain. Troy gave him a second kick before grabbing the ropes and starting to fasten them around Jay's hands. Gabriella took care of his legs. They then gagged him and rushed upstairs.

"Let's get out of here," Troy said, running over to the front door and flinging it open, not caring that it had smacked the wall, causing a huge dent to form.

Gabriella dashed after Troy.

"How about we call the police?" Gabriella suggested, grabbing her phone from the pocket of her pants.

"Good idea," Troy agreed.

After reporting to the officers what was going on and giving them the address to Jay's house, Troy and Gabriella decided to take a walk in a park they had noticed while coming into the neighborhood. That would help pass the time since it was going to be a while before the police arrived.

"That was scary," Gabriella commented while starting down the walking trail located down the middle of the park.

"Yeah, it was, but it was also kind of fun. Especially since we caught a criminal," Troy spoke.

"I would have never been able to get through this mission without your help, Troy. Thank you so much." Gratitude and admiration flickered in Gabriella's irises.

"No problem," Troy responded, smiling down at Gabriella and offering her his hand.

Giggling, Gabriella placed her hand in Troy's. Her cheeks became tinted as he intertwined his fingers with hers.

"So, do you think Jay's the 'woman' thief?"

"That's my guess, but I can never be sure."

**...**

"Are you hungry?" Troy asked Gabriella after the walk was finished.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah."

"How about we stop at a fast food place and pick up some burgers and fries?"

"That sounds good."

"So it can be like our...our first date?"

"Date?" Gabriella repeated, nonplussed. "But you...you never asked me out. In fact, I remember just yesterday you saying you were 'breaking up' with me, which, in my opinion, meant you weren't that interested in us dating."

"You seem like a nice girl. And after everything that happened today, I would like to give you a chance. Is that okay?"

"Absolutely." Gabriella smiled, not realizing that she was gazing into Troy's eyes.

"What?" Troy questioned when Gabriella's stare hadn't broken off after a while.

"Nothing." Gabriella shook her head while lowering it so that Troy couldn't see her embarrassed face.

"Okay." Troy smiled. "Let's go back to the car, then."

Gabriella permitted Troy to lead her back to the car. Once they were both inside of it and their seatbelts were buckled, Gabriella started to drive off. "Where is this restaurant?"

"Around the corner," Troy answered. "I saw it on our way here. It's a McDonald's."

"I think I see it," Gabriella announced after a minute.

After Gabriella found a space in the nearly vacant parking lot and parked her car, she and Troy went inside the restaurant. They each got a cheeseburger and fries, then found a table to sit at to enjoy the much-needed meal.

"So, Gabriella, do you really like soccer? When you were investigating me, you said that you did."

"It's just alright. I dramatized my interest in it to make myself seem not like me, and that means that I lied about playing on a soccer team in high school."

"Well, I certainly was convinced. Good job."

"Thanks."

"Hey, do you want to try a bite of my burger?" Troy wondered.

"I have my own," Gabriella reminded him.

"It doesn't matter." Troy offered his cheeseburger to Gabriella with a smile. "Try it."

"Well, okay." Gabriella took a smile bite of the food Troy was offering her, chewed and swallowed. "That was really good, Troy. Thanks for sharing it with me."

"You're welcome." After a pause, Troy added, "You have ketchup on your chin." He leaned over and wiped the red sauce off Gabriella's face with his thumb, then ate it.

"Troy! Why did you eat that?"

"Because it's food."

"Were you that starving?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah! I haven't had anything to eat since like twelve o' clock! I wasn't expecting this mission to take hours to complete. And for your info, next time we do this, we're taking my car."

"Why?"

"Because I have snacks in my car. Remember, the candy you thought I was using to lure kids over to me?"

"Oh yeah, that," Gabriella responded.

**...**

Gabriella's cell phone rang. Answering it, she discovered it was one of the police officers, who told her that he, along with a few more policemen, were at Jay's house, picking the lock of the locked front door. Gabriella promised that she and Troy would be there right away, then hung up.

"We have to go?" Troy guessed, the smile that was on his face fading.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. The police are at Jay's place right now."

"Alright. Well, I really had fun with you this evening."

"I had fun with you, too," Gabriella returned, a demure smile overtaking her lightly glossed lips. "But I guess it has to end now. I mean, we can't leave the police alone. They probably don't know where Jay is in the house, and since he's gagged, he won't even be making any noise to give them hints."

Troy slowly shook his head. "No, Gabriella," he started as he took both of Gabriella's hands in his and stared into her sparking chocolate eyes. "It can't end until we do this." He leaned in and touched his lips to Gabriella's in the beginnings of a kiss.

Gabriella didn't even have to think about whether or not she would kiss Troy in return. She just did, and as she tasted his lips, she completely forgot about Jay, about having to leave McDonald's that minute-everything that was happening slipped out of her mind.

Suddenly, Troy pulled away and connected his eyes with Gabriella's while still holding her delicate hands. "Now, I need to ask you something."

"Go on," Gabriella urged.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes," Gabriella replied, suddenly pulling her hands away from Troy's so she could give him a hug. "I'd be delighted."


	8. The End of the Adventure

After the police officers handcuffed Jay and locked him in the backseat of the police car, they laid their attention on Troy and Gabriella.

"So," an officer called Robert began, "Did you find the kids, too?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. They're not here, though." She then proceeded to tell about the house she and Troy had seen Jay take two children into.

"I see. Well, how about Troy comes back to the police station in my car and I send Chris with you in your car to go get the kids. And if they can't all fit in your car, then just stay with them until I can send out an officer with a second car."

"Okay; sounds good," Gabriella agreed.

Troy hugged Gabriella. "I'll see you in a little while," he said.

"I'll see you," Gabriella returned, returning Troy's hug before climbing into her car.

Troy quickly waved good-bye to his new girlfriend before getting into the passenger seat of the police car.

**...**

Gabriella pulled up to the house where the kidnapped children were being kept. "Here we are," she announced.

"Alright; let's see if we can't get in and rescue the kids," Chris spoke, getting out the passenger door.

Gabriella followed the police officer to the front door of the home, which was, unfortunately, locked.

"Don't worry; I brought tools to pick locks, and also, if we need to resort to breaking down the door, I have tools for that, too," Chris assured. "Let me just get them out of your car."

"Okay," Gabriella acknowledged.

Chris went out of Gabriella's sight, returning a minute later with a bag. After selecting something from it, he began trying to pry the lock open. In about five minutes, he found that the plan had been successful.

Gabriella pushed open the door. The sound of kids crying met her ears. "Where are they?" she wondered aloud.

"In here, maybe," Chris suggested, hurrying over to a closed door. It was locked, but from the outside rather than the inside, so it could easily be opened.

Gabriella followed the officer into the room. Lying around on the floor were four children who all screamed at the sight of the two adults approaching them.

"It's alright," Gabriella comforted. "We're the police. We won't hurt you. We're here to take you home to your mommies and daddies."

"T-There was a-a man a-and h-he b-beat us," sobbed a little blonde girl.

"I-I tried to beat h-him up w-when he h-hit my s-sister, but t-then h-he started h-hitting me, too," cried a little boy.

"Well, he's on his way to jail right now," Gabriella told the kids. "Now, I'm gonna call another policeman to come out. There's not enough room for all of you in my car, so I need to get someone to come here with a police car."

"We get to ride in a police car?" another boy said.

"Some of you will," Gabriella replied.

"Yay!" The boy jumped up and down.

After Gabriella called the police station, she sat down with the kids while Chris went to examine the rest of the old house to make sure there weren't any more children hidden in a different place. "Okay, so why don't you tell me what your names are?"

"I'm Daniel, and this is my sister Anna," the little boy who had said Jay hit him answered, pointing to his sister while he said her name.

"I'm Ethan," the boy who had been excited to ride in the police car announced.

The last child, a little girl who hadn't spoken so far, began to cry. "I-I'm s-scared. I-I want my m-mommy and d-daddy."

Gabriella went over to the sobbing child. "You'll get to go to your mommy and daddy soon," she assured her with a smile.

"A-Are you g-gonna hurt m-me?"

"No, I won't hurt you. I work for the police. And police never hurt kids. They help them."

"W-Will that m-man come back?"

"No, he's gone. He went to jail."

The little girl suddenly started to cling to Gabriella. "T-Take me h-home."

"I can't just yet."

Just then, Chris came back into the room. The little girl screamed. "I-I'm scared," she whimpered.

"It's okay," Gabriella comforted. "This is a policeman."

The little girl wasn't relieved. "N-No! Don't let h-him near me."

Gabriella picked up the girl and carried her out of the room. She found a tattered sofa and sat down on it, placing the girl in her lap. "What did that man who took you do to you?"

"H-He touched me w-where my mommy s-said n-no one should t-touch me."

Gabriella was horrified. Why would anyone, even Jay, inappropriately touch an innocent little girl who couldn't possibly be over the age of four?

"I-I d-don't w-want anyone t-to do i-it again."

"I promise no one will. Now, you can stay here with me. I'll keep you safe."

The little girl wiped her tears away with her hands.

"Do you mind telling me your name, honey?" Gabriella inquired.

"It's Isabelle," the little girl replied quietly.

"That's a pretty name," Gabriella commented.

"Thank you."

**...**

Troy and Robert drug Jay into the police station and immediately took him to the jail cells. Unlocking his handcuffs, they threw him in one and locked the door.

"I didn't do a freakin' thing!" Jay screamed, pounding on the bars that now blocked him from the outside world.

"You kidnapped children, and you are also under suspect for thefts."

"I didn't steal anything!"

"Then explain that gold jewelry in your closet. Explain the wig of dark hair styled into the style the "woman" who was stealing things had." Troy made air quotes with his fingers when he said 'woman.'

Jay was silent.

"So you don't deny this?" Robert checked.

"No," Jay admitted. "But I didn't do it alone. I had help."

"Who helped you? And we want the truth."

"A young woman. But I swore to her that I would not reveal her name. She'll kill me if I do."

"Well, she's going to be in prison right along with you, and she'll be watched by guards so she won't be able to murder you. Now tell us who this woman is." Troy's voice was stern as he spoke.

"Isabella Montez," Jay reluctantly revealed.

Troy wasn't surprised. "I know where the Montez home is," he said, turning to Robert. "Should we go over there and arrest her?"

"Yeah; let's do that. I just sent out a pair of officers to go help Gabriella and Chris bring the kids back here to the station, so that's all taken care of. We're free to do whatever we need."

"Alright; let's go, then."

**...**

As the police stepped into the house with the kidnapped children, all the kids except Isabella hurried over to them, shouting with joy since they were finally getting out of that horrible place.

"Alright," one of the policeman said. "Who's riding in the police car?"

"Me! Me!" The two boys raised their hands while jumping up and down.

"Okay, you guys can come with us. The girls can go in Agent Montez's car."

Gabriella, after telling Isabelle she would be back in a moment, went up to the policemen. "Can Chris ride with you?" she wanted to know. "Little Isabelle over there is terrified of men right now."

"Sure," a policeman replied.

"Thanks," Gabriella acknowledged. Then, lowering her voice, she added, "While she was kidnapped, she was sexually assaulted, so you might want to put that on Jay's record."

"Really? Well, Jay's in a huge mess right now already. But after what you just told me, I think we're gonna have to add to his jail sentence. He was going to get out when he was fifty, but now, I think we'll need to make the punishment last for life."

Gabriella couldn't help but smile at that news.

"Okay, well, let's get these kids to the police station."

**...**

"Gabriella!" Troy exclaimed as Gabriella walked into the station along with Chris, the other two officers, and the kids. "Guess what?"

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"Your sister _was_ part of the crime! She _did_ help with the thefts! Robert and I got Jay to admit it, then we went over to your house and put her under arrest."

"Is she in jail now?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah, both she and Jay have been questioned, proved guilty, and now have jail sentences. Isabella's in there for two years, and Jay's stuck behind the bars until he's fifty."

"No, actually he'll be in there for life," Gabriella corrected. She then told Troy about what Jay had done to Isabelle.

"That's awful," Troy remarked.

"Hey, another policeman!" Daniel exclaimed, running up to Troy. "Hi! Did you really put that bad man in jail?"

"Well, I helped. I'm actually not an police officer, though. I'm a secret agent."

"You're a secret agent?" Daniel's brown eyes grew wide. "That's so awesome!"

"Yeah, it is pretty cool," Troy agreed.

While the kids settled down, the police officers contacted the parents who had reported their children missing. All of them were thrilled to get a call saying their missing kids had been found, and said they would come down to the office immediately to claim them.

"So," Troy began while walking over to Gabriella. "Our adventure together is over."

"I know." Regret filled Gabriella's chocolate eyes. After a pause, she asked, "Do you think we'll ever get to work with one another again?"

"I'll certainly ask to. Every time secret agents need to be sent out to work on a case in pairs, I'll make a request to be paired with you. I think we make a good team."

"Yeah, so do I," Gabriella agreed.

After a pause, Troy said, "Hey, what do you think of having a celebration tomorrow night?"

"You mean like our second date?" A playful smile showed on Gabriella's lips.

"That's exactly what I mean."

"Oh, I don't know..."

"Come on, Gabriella."

"Well...I don't think so. I mean, I would rather stay at home alone."

"You wouldn't dare," Troy responded.

"Of course I wouldn't! I was joking!" Gabriella giggled. "Of course I'll go out with you."

Troy pulled Gabriella into a tight hug. "I love my job more than I ever did before," he declared.

"So do I."

**...**

**Okay, this was the final chapter:( I wish I could've made this story last longer, but it was pretty much over, and I didn't want to drag it out. I had a lot of fun writing it, though, and I'm really gonna miss it. This was one of my top two favorite stories to write:) I hope you all enjoyed it, and I really hope the end was alright. I'm terrible at endings. LOL.**

**I just posted the first half of a twoshot yesterday. It's called **_**It's Like Catching Lightning**_**, so if you get a chance, please check it out. I really tried to improve my writing in it, and it's also a submission to a writing challenge here on . Also, after I finish up **_**Whatever it Takes,**_** I'll be starting a new Troyella story about forbidden love. I'm not yet sure what it'll be titled, but I promise it'll be good. It'll be written like I wrote **_**It's Like Catching Lighting**_**. And believe me, I improved with that story:)**

**So, thanks to all of you who read and/or reviewed this story! I really appreciated it! And thanks for putting up with this super long A/N!**


	9. AN

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm starting fresh on a new profile. I'll still be writing Troyella, so go check me out at ~zefronsangel. I'll be posting the updated version of my story ****_Win Some, Lose Some_**** soon.**

**ZefronsAngel**


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